Harris County Could Lose $113 Million in CDBG Funds Despite 1-Year Extension
10/19/26 – Update includes several changes to text to clarify origin and status of $113 million. See GLO clarification at bottom of post.
10/16/26 – GLO Commissioner Dawn Buckingham says she is moving $133 Million of Community Development Block Grant funds for Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) designated for Harris County to another county. [GLO disputes this. See clarification below.]
Here’s how the story unfolded.
Garcia Pulls CDBG Update from Commissioners Court Agenda
Agenda Item 93 for the 10/15/26 Harris County Commissioners Court Meeting concerned an update on $322 million of HUD CDBG-DR funds that were at risk because of an imminent 2/28/27 deadline.
Two weeks ago, a one-year extension from the Texas General Land Office (GLO) gave Harris County Flood Control District (HCFCD) more breathing room. However, it was not clear whether HCFCD could expend all the money … even with the extension.
But yesterday, before Marcus Stuckett, the new executive director of HCFCD, could answer that question, Precinct 2 Commissioner Adrian Garcia pulled Item 93 from the agenda. It will now be considered on November 12 – AFTER the upcoming election. Hmmmm. That made me curious!
No one with Harris County or HCFCD could or would tell me why it was pulled from the agenda. And the County refused my Public Information Request for Stuckett’s presentation … within minutes. They said the presentation didn’t exist. Never a good sign! See below.
So, I sent my request for information to the GLO. They immediately supplied two letters that explain what happened and what will happen.
Letter #1: Stuckett Request to GLO
On 10/2/26, Stuckett sent a letter to GLO Deputy Director Heather Lagrone. In it, he thanks the GLO for the one year extension, and says that it will give HCFCD time to finish the CDBG-DR projects.
But he also explains that $113 million of the $322 million – more than a third of the total – will not be expended before the extended deadline. The reason: Actual project bids compiled under his predecessor came in lower than initial estimates used for grant applications. Stuckett also references “scope changes” as a reason for the lower-than-expected billing.
To make up the $113 million, Stuckett proposed shifting several Subdivision Drainage Projects and/or CDBG-Mitigation Projects to the CDBG-DR budget. Some were already completed.
Letter #2: GLO Reply to Stuckett
GLO Commissioner Dawn Buckingham replied to Stuckett in a terse, three-paragraph letter dated 10/14/26.
The first paragraph says she is pleased that the extension will give HCFCD time to complete the CDBG-DR projects.
But Paragraph #2 says “Harris County” failed to provide information that it promised “months ago” about swapping projects from the MIT category to DR – a proposal initiated by Stuckett’s predecessor, Dr. Tina Petersen. Stuckett has been in his new job for only about three months.
In addition to the vague timing reference, the generic “Harris County” reference also stood out. Harris County Housing & Community Development and Harris County Engineering also manage CDBG grants. Buckingham did not specify whether HCFCD, one of the others, or all of the above failed to comply.
Paragraph #3 explains that Buckingham will reallocate the Harris County funds to another county because she fears Harris County will eventually fail to complete the projects. [GLO disputes this. See clarification below.]
Buckingham does not acknowledge that several of the projects that Stuckett proposed moving from MIT to DR were already completed.
One thing is clear, however. Harris County will lose $113 million of flood mitigation funds … at a time when Harris County just raised taxes by a record amount.
How We Got Here
It’s important to remember that we would not even be in this position if it weren’t for Precinct 2 Commissioner Adrian Garcia. He pushed to remove exceptional HCFCD leaders who sold the 2018 Flood Bond and were delivering projects at a record pace through 2022. After pushing those leaders out, he replaced them with an inexperienced, unqualified leader he could control.
As her performance slipped, Precinct 3 Commissioner Tom Ramsey warned other commissioners and the county judge. But Garcia kept defending her poor performance.
And boom. Here we are today. $113 million. Gone. Precinct 2 residents should remember that when early voting starts.
To read the full text of Stuckett’s letter to the GLO, click here.
And to read the full text of the GLO’s response to Stuckett, click here.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 10/16/2026
3335 Days since Hurricane Harvey
The thoughts expressed in this post represent opinions on matters of public concern and safety. They are protected by the First Amendment of the US Constitution and the Anti-SLAPP Statute of the Great State of Texas.
GLO Clarification
We would like to clarify Commissioner Buckingham’s intent with regards to the $322 million in CDBG-DR funding currently being administered by HCFCD.
In your story you state, “GLO Commissioner Dawn Buckingham says she is moving $113 Million of Community Development Block Grant funds for Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) designated for Harris County to another county.” That is not accurate. Commissioner Buckingham has not identified any amount of funding to be removed from the $322 million in CDBG-DR (disaster recovery funding) that she secured for Harris County projects. All Commissioner Buckingham has said specifically relating to reducing the funding was in her 9/28/2026 letter to Judge Hidalgo in which she states, “But in this contract, failure to meet each benchmark will result in the unused balance being reclaimed and reallocated to other shovel-ready projects not managed by HCFCD.”
To be very clear, Commissioner Buckingham’s intention since taking office has been for this funding to benefit Harris County area residents. Who administers the funding and for what projects has rested with Harris County for more than 3.5 years. HCFCD has the contract, but the Harris County Commissioners Court has had authority over HCFCD the whole time.
The $113 million figure has only been mentioned by HCFCD Executive Director Marcus Stuckett. In his letter to the GLO, Mr. Stuckett stated that HCFCD “now anticipates approximately $113 million in CDBG-DR funds will remain unallocated.” HCFCD has not provided any data or documentation to support that figure or claim. The only basis for the $113 million amount is his mention of it. In fact, Mr. Stuckett’s team has failed to provide the specific documentation the GLO has requested to properly identify the current status of the budget or plans for how to spend the remaining allocations. In the past six months, HCFCD has only provided vague ideas and undefined concepts. That is not how the HUD funding process works. Subrecipients cannot piecemeal projects and Frankenstein together proposals. HUD demands specifics about complete projects that result in a defined benefit to a defined population by a defined deadline.
As we discussed, the GLO has an obligation to ensure the entirety of the $5.676 billion entrusted to the State of Texas specifically for Hurricane Harvey disaster recovery is expended in full compliance with federal regulations and within HUD’s mandatory deadlines for the full grant process. Who administers the funding and for what projects continues to be adjusted based on what can be accomplished within the deadline.
Since taking office in 2023, Commissioner Buckingham has taken every action within her authority to ensure funding is provided to benefit Harris County residents. Harris County promised “shovel ready” projects and the GLO has continued to provide technical support to facilitate federal compliance in effectively administering the funds.
Commissioner Buckingham’s intent continues to be for the full $322 million to be spent on projects to benefit the people who call Harris County home. However, if HCFCD cannot complete promised projects that can benefit residents within HUD’s mandatory process before the federal deadline, we may have to find alternative means to spend the money before time runs out. It won’t automatically go to projects outside of Harris County, but there are countless federally eligible projects in need of funding, and the clock is running out.
Emailed on October 18, 2026, by Brittany Eck, GLO Director of Communications for Disaster Recovery
